Published on October 23, 2026, State Decree No. 49,298/2026 establishes how the state of Minas Gerais will apply Brazil’s General Environmental Licensing Law (LGLA). The decree introduces new rules and revises the wording of other state regulations still in force.

These provisions apply to licensing proceedings carried out by the state. They provide guidance to Minas Gerais municipalities that process licensing, all within the limits of their respective jurisdictions and without affecting their own regulations.

The decree will take effect 30 days after its publication, that is, on November 22, 2026. Issued permits will remain valid through their respective terms, and all existing obligations continue to apply.

What changes

Classification and ongoing proceedings

Until the types of activities or projects subject to environmental licensing are defined, the list of activities requiring licensing, the types of permits, and the procedures and review timeframes set out in State Decree No. 47,383/2018 and COPAM Normative Resolutions No. 213/2017 and No. 217/2017 will continue to apply.

Activities exempt from licensing

In the state of Minas Gerais, specifically for emergency or urgent works and interventions, the exemption authorized by the LGLA requires a report detailing the actions carried out, along with the corresponding technical responsibility record. The licensing authority may establish technical guidelines and measures for mitigation or compensation.

Ongoing proceedings related to other activities or projects that are exempt from licensing under the LGLA will be terminated and shelved. When applicable, the project developer may be required to provide documentation proving eligibility for the licensing exemption. This situation, however, does not exempt developers from implementing mandatory environmental control measures and obtaining other authorizations required by law.

Environmental studies

Environmental studies must comply with the Terms of Reference (ToR), which the licensing authority must issue within 30 days, extendable for an additional 30 days, counted from the date the guidance for the formal filing of the application in the Environmental Licensing System (SLA) is issued. Once the developer submits the environmental study, the licensing authority must verify compliance with the requirements set out in the Terms of Reference (TR) within 15 days. If any requirements are missing, the authority may require that the study be resubmitted.

Social participation

Minas Gerais’ regulation reinforces the provision introduced by the LGLA, which requires at least one public hearing for licensing proceedings that are subject to an EIA/Rima.

Municipal certificate of urban land use, subdivision, and occupancy compliance

This certificate is no longer a prerequisite for processing environmental licensing applications, even those submitted before the LGLA took effect. This change, however, does not exempt developers from complying with municipal regulations.

Approval for the clearing of vegetation in the Atlantic Forest Biome

Environmental licensing proceedings suspended due to the lack of prior approval from IBAMA — Brazil’s primary environmental agency — for vegetation removal in the Atlantic Forest Biome must be automatically resumed, including those formally initiated before the LGLA took effect.  

Additional information

Developers will have up to four months to respond to requests for additional clarifications, documents, or supplementary information. This deadline may be extended with a valid rationale, and any such extension must include an implementation schedule. Generally, the licensing authority must communicate all requests for additional information at once, unless they arise from new facts or from a duly justified need for further clarification. Project developers may appeal the requirement; in that case, the deadline for compliance with the request is suspended until the appeal is reviewed.

Effective terms:

The provisions of Decree No. 47,383/2018 were amended to align the effective terms of permits with the LGLA:

• from three to six years for a Preliminary Permit (LP), an Installation Permit (LI), or concurrent Preliminary and Installation Permits (LP and LI); and
• from five to ten years for the Operating Permit (OL), as well as for permits issued concurrently with the Operating Permit (OL) and the Simplified Environmental Permit (SEL).

Authorities involved

In this regard, the participation of authorities involved in environmental licensing proceedings will be governed by the principles and procedures set out in the LGLA. For proceedings formally initiated before the decree took effect, the environmental licensing agency must verify, before finalizing its review, whether the relevant authorities were formally notified to provide input.

Environmental requirements

Developers may request a review of the environmental requirements within 30 days of permit issuance, with the option to seek a suspensive effect. The agency must respond within the same timeframe.

Permit transfer

The transfer or sharing of permit ownership is permitted, provided that a request is submitted to the environmental authority within 90 days of the act giving rise to such change. This change does not affect the location or purpose of the permit granted. The agency will have 30 days to issue a decision and cannot expand requirements unless environmental impacts also increase.

Demarest’s Environmental team remains available to clarify the new rules and assess their impacts on activities, projects, and environmental licensing proceedings.